"A Hero of Our Time": a summary of the chapters

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Summary of "A Hero of Our Time" will help you better know and understand this novel, even if you yourself have read it in its entirety. This is the first psychological novel in the history of Russian literature written by Mikhail Lermontov. Refers to the classics of Russian literature. The novel first saw the light in 1840, when it was published in the printing house of Ilya Glazunov. The circulation of the first edition was one thousand copies. Lermontov wrote this work for several years, since 1838.

Publication history

A summary of the "Hero of Our Time" you can find in this article. The history of its publication is interesting. It has been published in parts since 1838. The first to appear in print was "Bela", which was published in the magazine"Domestic Notes".

The Fatalist and Taman were also published there, in 1839 and 1840, respectively. But the chapters "Princess Mary" and "Maxim Maksimych" were not published separately, readers could get acquainted with them only after the publication of the first separate edition. The preface, which precedes the modern version of the novel, was written only in 1841 in St. Petersburg. It was only included in the second edition of the work.

In it, the author declares that his novel is entirely based on the diaries of the Russian officer Grigory Pechorin, which ended up in his hands, and the stories he heard.

Head of "Bela"

Summary of the chapters of the "Hero of Our Time" allows you to look at this work from the other side. After all, the chapters in it are not in chronological order.

The very first chapter is called "Bela". From it we learn about how the narrator wanders around the Caucasus. He himself is an officer, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that he converges with the already elderly staff captain Maxim Maksimych, from whom he learns about Pechorin. Once Maxim Maksimych was the commandant of a fortress located in southern Russia. Grigory Pechorin arrived many years ago to serve under his command. Then it was a young, but already experienced and experienced officer. He was exiled to the Caucasus after some unpleasant story, about which Maxim Maksimych either does not want to tell, or does not know all the details himself.

Summary indetails of "A Hero of Our Time" helps to refresh the memory of the main events of Lermontov's work. Maxim Maksimych describes Pechorin to the narrator as a pleasant young man with whom incredible stories always happen. The heroes manage to quickly and sincerely make friends, become real friends.

Things begin to move quickly when a local highland prince living nearby invites them to his daughter's wedding. It is there that he meets Pechorin Bela, the heroine who gave the name to this chapter of the novel. It turns out to be an amazingly beautiful girl, a classic mountain girl, who is radically different from the secular beauties he knew before. The young officer sets out to steal her from her parents' house by any means.

In the novel "A Hero of Our Time" (a summary of the chapters will allow you to pass an exam or a test if you need to remember the main events of the work) it is said that the words of Maxim Maksimych prompted him to this idea. He became an accidental witness to the conversation between brother Bela and Kazbich, who was also a guest at the celebration. The latter, like Pechorin, really liked this girl. The brother even agreed to steal his sister for him, if he would give his horse in return, which was considered the best in those places. But Kazbich did not go for it. Pechorin considered this a certain sign.

In the chapter "Bela" ("Bella") of the "Hero of Our Time", the summary of which you are now reading, Pechorin offers the girl's brother to help steal the horse from Kazbich, and as a rewardhe will help him get closer to his sister. Maxim Maksimych does not approve of this idea, but the main character of Lermontov still achieves what he wants.

The brother of the desired girl brings her to the fortress, but for now, Pechorin distracts Kazbich with conversations, takes the horse, disappearing forever from those places, as he understands that the punishment will be cruel and inevitable. Kazbich is angry, he is very upset by the deceit and the loss of his horse, now wanting only one thing - to take revenge.

Bela at this time finds herself in a Russian fortress, where Pechorin is trying to achieve her favor. Based on the summary of the chapters of Lermontov's Hero of Our Time, we can trace the main events that are described in more detail in the novel itself. The girl yearns for her home, ignoring the Russian officer in every possible way. He showered her with gifts and love promises, but to no avail. Over time, she nevertheless succumbs to his onslaught and falls in love with her kidnapper, but at the same moment Bela becomes uninteresting and indifferent to Pechorin. He grows cold towards her and is burdened by her company.

Pechorin begins to be overcome by boredom. The reader will be convinced more than once that this is a faithful companion of the protagonist. She also attacks him in the chapter "Bel" "Hero of Our Time". The summary, like the novel, describes signs of this. He constantly disappears somewhere, hunting all day long, and all this time the girl yearns alone in the fortress.

In time, Kazbich appears and impudently kidnaps Bela. Hearing how she plaintively calls for help, Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin rush to the rescue. Kazbich understands thathe cannot escape the persecution, and mortally wounds Bela. Two days later, she dies in the arms of the protagonist. He takes this loss hard, but drives grief deep inside. After the funeral, he is transferred to another part, they part with Maxim Maksimych for several years.

You can read the summary of the "Hero of Our Time" in this article, all events are described in as much detail as possible.

Chapter "Maxim Maksimych"

Soon the narrator meets Maxim Maksimych again. This is the only chapter in which the action takes place in the present, while the rest of the chapters are based on memories of Pechorin or his notes. They collide at a roadside hotel, Pechorin also stops here, whom the narrator meets face to face. He is on his way to Persia.

Maxim Maksimych is overwhelmed with joyful feelings, he is happy to see an old friend, whom he always treated with special warmth. He immediately asks the footman to report that Pechorin is waiting for him. Surprisingly, he does not come either in the evening or at night. The old officer is distracted, he cannot understand why the old friend does not want to see him.

Finally, Pechorin appears, acting cold, greeting an old colleague and friend only casually. At the same time, he quickly gathers, preparing to go. From the chapter "Maxim Maksimych" of the "Hero of Our Time", a summary of which is described in detail in this publication, we can find out how upset the old officer was. Finally heasks Pechorin what to do with his journal, which he has kept for all these years. Pechorin is indifferent here, he doesn't care.

After the departure of the main character, Maxim Maksimych gives the notes to the narrator. So this novel is born from travel notes, which the author decides to publish after learning about the death of Pechorin in distant Persia. It is in this chapter that we learn the history of the manuscript, invented by the author, it is also given in the summary of the "Hero of Our Time" ("Maxim Maksimych").

Chapter "Taman"

This chapter tells how Pechorin arrives in Taman on official business. He stops at a house on the seashore, near which suspicious events take place at night, and immediately feels: something is unclean here. The gloomy house itself, in which a blind boy and a deaf old woman live, leads to dark thoughts.

The main character decides to follow them. It turns out that the boy goes to the seashore almost every night. There he meets a girl, together they wait until someone arrives.

When a boat is on the shore, a man gets out of it and leaves some cargo. The girl and the boy help him in every possible way. Pechorin is at a loss what it is.

In the morning he directly asks the girl about the night incident, but she answers in riddles, laughs and in every possible way avoids a direct and frank conversation.

Tamani's clue

In the chapter "Taman" of the "Hero of Our Time" (a summary is presented to your attention)Pechorin has to be threatened by the authorities when he solves this riddle. The mysterious people he saw at night turn out to be ordinary smugglers who are engaged in the illegal transportation of goods. The protagonist threatens them, but soon regrets it, the long tongue nearly costs him his life.

It was like this. The girl called him once to the sea on a date. Pechorin was immediately apprehensive about this proposal, but still went. Together they sailed out to sea in a boat. A summary of the chapters of "A Hero of Our Time" gives a complete picture of their date. In the midst of the voyage, the girl attacked the officer, trying to throw him into the water from the boat. With great difficulty he managed to hold on. Pechorin threw the smuggler into the sea and returned to the shore.

After some time, he met the smugglers again at the old place. But this time, the man and the woman sailed forever from these places, leaving the blind boy to the mercy of fate. Already in the morning, Pechorin also left Taman forever, regretting that he had disturbed the peace of these people.

Chapter "Princess Mary"

The biggest chapter of this work is called "Princess Mary". A summary of the chapters of "A Hero of Our Time" gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthis story.

Pechorin arrives in Pyatigorsk to receive medical treatment. On the waters, he meets his old friend Grushnitsky, who also came to recover from his wound. There was a friendly relationship between them, but Pechorin himself admitted to himself that he always felt thatthey will collide on a narrow path.

At that time in Pyatigorsk there were quite a few respectable aristocratic audiences, among which Princess Ligovskaya and her daughter Mary stood out. Grushnitsky was almost immediately captivated by the young princess, he decided for himself that he must certainly become the hero of her novel. From the first day he was looking for a reason to meet Mary. But the Ligovskys were in no hurry, although Grushnitsky looked very romantic, putting on an old shabby soldier's overcoat. It seemed that this was an officer exiled to the Caucasus because of a duel.

Pechorin acted with the complete opposite. He was in no hurry to introduce himself to the princess, which surprised her and the surrounding society a lot. In the chapter "Princess Mary" of "A Hero of Our Time" (a brief summary tells about this), Pechorin manages to make friends with Dr. Werner.

In a provincial town, the hero is again overcome by boredom, and in order to dispel it, he decides to win the heart of a girl. At the same time, he is fully aware that Grushnitsky will immediately begin to be jealous. He only adds pleasure to bring intrigue to what is happening.

Visit to the Ligovskys

The princess in "A Hero of Our Time" (in the summary you can find signs of this) appears as a young and romantic girl who will not be difficult to charm such an experienced ladies' man as Pechorin.

Meanwhile, Werner tells him that a distant relative came to the princess, in whom the main character immediately recognizes his old lover named Vera. When they see each other, old and already forgotten feelings wake up in them again.

In order to see each other more often and at the same time not arouse suspicion among others, Vera invites Pechorin to come to Ligovskaya as often as possible and start courting Mary. So no one will guess the true reasons for his visit, suspicious rumors will not go around the city. Pechorin willingly agrees, because this is at least some kind of entertainment for him.

Meeting at the ball

The romance between Pechorin and Mary begins to develop rapidly when at the ball he saves the girl from the harassment of a drunk and obsessive officer. The grateful princess invites him to visit their home.

At first, Pechorin is deliberately cold and indifferent to the girl, which angers Mary a lot. In the summary of the "Hero of Our Time" you will find confirmation that such behavior of the protagonist only added fuel to the fire of their relationship. Pechorin acts strictly according to his plan of seducing the young lady.

He succeeds in getting his way. All the thoughts of the girl are occupied only by him. Meanwhile, Grushnitsky does not lose hope of awakening feelings in the princess, which bothers her in order. Every day she becomes more and more indifferent to him. Grushnitsky begins to suspect what is the true reason for what is happening, blaming Pechorin for everything. He is jealous and deliberately shuns his buddy.

In Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time", a summary of which will help you out if you have not read the work itself, Pechorin mockingly refers to Grushnitsky's feelings. The same decides to knock down his arrogance, thinking of provoking a duel, providingopponent with an unloaded pistol. Pechorin accidentally becomes a witness to this conversation, he becomes unpleasant and insulting for his old friend, in retaliation he decides to make him a laughingstock.

At this time, Mary is becoming more and more interested in Pechorin, confessing her love to him on one of the walks. But Pechorin is deliberately indifferent to everything, he does not understand why they need this relationship. But at the same time, he is proud that he managed to achieve his goal by falling in love with this girl.

Duel with Grushnitsky

The culmination of this chapter, and perhaps the whole novel, is Pechorin's duel with Grushnitsky. This is one of the most memorable events of the "Hero of Our Time". From the summary that is in this article, you can learn about it.

Rumors begin to circulate around the city that Pechorin plans to marry Mary. He refutes everything, stating that he values freedom more than anything in the world, but at the same time he suspects who is starting these conversations.

In parallel, he continues to see Vera. Going on a secret rendezvous with his beloved, he finds himself opposite the windows of the princess, who stayed at home. Pechorin looks into the house, then jumps down onto the grass and stumbles upon Grushnitsky and his comrades. They start a brawl, Pechorin is hiding.

The next day, Grushnitsky officially declares that Pechorin is Mary's lover, who goes on dates with her. The protagonist challenges him to a duel. Pechorin confesses to Werner what Grushnitsky wants to do with pistols. Werner agrees to be his second.

At the appointed placeGrushnitsky, acting according to a predetermined scenario, offers to shoot from six steps. The most intense moment of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is coming. A summary of the chapters will help you quickly recall it.

Pechorin, in turn, offers to shoot at the edge of the cliff, so that even a slight wound turns into a fatal one. In this case, there will be no problems in order to cover up the traces. The deceased will be attributed to the machinations of the Circassians.

Duel participants cast lots. Grushnitsky is the first to shoot. He faces a difficult choice: confess to a low deed that is not worthy of a Russian officer, or turn into an ordinary killer. At the last moment, he decides to shoot and wounds Pechorin in the leg. He prepares for the answer, advising his friend to pray in the end. But, not noticing even a shadow of repentance on the face of the young officer, he informs his second that they forgot to load his pistol. The second second is outraged that the rules are violated, it is impossible to change pistols along the way, but Grushnitsky nobly admits that Pechorin is right.

Pechorin's shot turns out to be fatal. As planned, the murder is attributed to the Circassians, all duel participants get away with it.

A summary of the chapters of "A Hero of Our Time" allows you to line up all the events that have occurred in a logical chain. Vera hastily leaves Pyatigorsk with her husband, to whom, in a fit of feelings, having learned about the duel, she confesses her love for Pechorin. The protagonist rushes after her, hoping to catch up, but to no avail. Only at that moment does he realizethat Vera is the only woman he loves.

At this time, his superiors still begin to suspect that Grushnitsky's death was the result of a duel. Therefore, Pechorin is quietly transferred to a small fortress in the Caucasus, where he later meets Maxim Maksimych. Finally, Grigory visits the Ligovskys. The princess thanks for saving her daughter's good name, wondering why he does not propose to a girl who is attractive, rich and madly in love with him. Pechorin asks for a private conversation with the princess, during which he admits that she is not interested in him, and all this time he has been mocking her.

Chapter Fatalist

The chapter "The Fatalist" is the final one in the novel "A Hero of Our Time". The summary will immediately remind you what it is about. This part of the work tells about Pechorin's service in one of the Cossack villages.

Officers spend all their evenings playing cards. One day, a conversation about fate comes between them. Is human life or death predetermined? Or is each person his own master?

Officer Vulich, a fatalist and a gambler, proposes to check in practice whether a person can control his own destiny. He makes a bet with Pechorin. The chapter “The Fatalist” of the “Hero of Our Time” (a summary will not replace the work in the original) talks about how Vulich takes a gun, and at this moment it seems to the main character that he sees death in the eyes of an opponent, which he tells him about. Vulich shoots himself in the temple, but the weapon misfires. The next shot he fires atside, and the bullet pierces the cap, which hangs on the wall. It turns out that the gun was still loaded. Everyone around is stunned. Most of all - Pechorin, who does not understand why he saw death in the eyes of Vulich.

The answer comes in the morning. Pechorin learns that he is found hacked to death with a saber. He is killed by a drunken Cossack when he returns home. The sobered-up Cossack, realizing what he had done, locked himself in the hut and is not going to surrender to the authorities, threatening to open fire. No one dares to break, fearing to run into a bullet.

Pechorin has an idea to try his luck. He climbs into the house through the window, the Cossack shoots, but only touches the main character's epaulette. The villagers who came running to the rescue arrested the Cossack and took him away. Pechorin is now treated like a hero.

And from now on, he is overcome with thoughts, whether he should become a fatalist. Everything in life is not as simple as it seemed to him before. Arriving from the fortress, Pechorin tells everything to Maxim Maksimych, asking if he believes in fate and predestination. The staff captain is a down to earth person. He notes that the pistol often misfires, and to die at the hands of a Cossack, apparently, that officer was written in the family. This ends their conversation, and the whole novel, which has become one of the key works of Russian literature of the first half of the 19th century.